Summer skiing

[Llareggub]

Am I mad to consider this?

I am a single parent with boys aged 7 and 5. They haven't skied before but I can take them to a dry slope for the basics.

I am a single parent and love skiing but haven't skied for years. I used to excellent! I want to take my sons and remember a fantastic holiday back when I was 14 when we skied the Stubai glacier in June.

I'd like to go in the summer hols so we can do other things too. I'm a bit bothered by the logistics of getting them both up the slopes on t-bars etc. also, I have no idea if it's possible to get a bit of skiing on a glacier in the summer hols. I'd hoped for April but my youngest has an op around then so won't be fit.

Any tips?

tbh It isn't really ideal for novices and I'd suggest your dc are a bit too youngand inexperienced to enjoy it. The lifts on the top of glaciers can be very steep and when ds tried it he somehow got in the way of race teams training even as a good skier. There are a few glaciers which have a designated nursery area - think the Kitzsteinhorn is one. However it necessitates an early start as the snow is only good enough in the morning.

Early starts aren't a problem for my boys. They are early risers.

I wasn't planning on skiing a lot, just giving them a go really. We'll find plenty of other things to do. I remember the Stubai having a lovely, gently wide blue run that my mother liked very much. My father recommended Kaprun but I've never been.

If I got them proficient on a dry slope do you think it is worth giving it a shot? if they hate it we can just mess around in the snow and drink hot chocolate :-)

I think I have persuaded my mother to join us so I'll be able to shoot off and have a quick blast.

Maybe worth looking at the website for Skiclub of GB. Remember to take lots of suncream as the sun reflects off the snow (which I found out to my cost.....)

I have one word for you : altitude. I went summer skiing in Zermatt and felt sick as a dog :) Had to descend. If they are fine with altitude then go for it. It can be really fun. Zermatt ans SAaas Fee both have reliabke summer skiing with lots of adventure-sport type stuff ti do if skiing doesn't work out.

I have a couple of friends who went skiing in Saas Fee over the summer. Neither of them were very expert at all and they had fun.

The tbars/buttons at top of Saas Fee are steep so you need to make sure they can manage them before you set off. I think a 5yr old would struggle there and there is no alternative unless you walk a distance to middle station. iirc Engelberg has a rope tow section at the top , where they can also snow tube .

I think there is summer skiing in Cervinia too (north Italy, other side of Zermatt).